Our pick of the top 14 podcasts of the past 12 months, from Hollywood directors and writers to the VFX experts who make cutting-edge tech work behind the scenes.
The CG Garage podcast is always an entertaining and informative listen, but in 2023, it’s been exceptional. From major Hollywood directors to Academy Award-winning CG pioneers and Chaos’ tech architect, each and every episode has provided an open discussion on hot topics such as AI and virtual production, nuggets of trivia and CG history, and even some tear-jerking moments.
In fact, it’s been hard to nail down the best episodes — we started with 10 but quickly upped the number to 14 because there were so many good ones. Check out our list below to discover our faves, and don’t forget to stay tuned with YouTube, iTunes, or Spotify and follow CG Garage via Facebook and Twitter.
1. Joaquim Dos Santos
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proved that there was still room for a fresh take on superhero movies — and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse expanded it in incredible new directions. Director Joaquim Dos Santos reveals how his animation background gave him the confidence to create one of the year’s best movies.
2. Joe Letteri
From Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs to Lord of the Rings’ Gollum and Avatar’s Na’vi, Joe Letteri has helped create some of the most iconic and realistic CG characters to ever grace the big screen. Along the way, he’s won three of the amazing 11 Oscars he's been nominated for. In this info-packed Q&A, he talks about everything from his first VFX shot for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country to his excitement for deep-field compositing.
3. Peter Sohn
Peter Sohn has become a stalwart of Pixar’s movies, going from storyboard artist to director, and lending his voice and likeness to characters. At the view conference, he told Chris about the process of directing Elemental and how his personal experiences seeped into the movie’s themes.
4. Vladimir Koylazov
A year in podcasts wouldn’t be complete without a visit from Vladimir “Vlado” Koylazov, Chaos’ co-founder and chief technical officer. Recorded in front of Chaos’ own groundbreaking virtual production LED screen, Vlado discusses new trends in VFX and reveals how Chaos is making it easy for artists and studios to create great work.
5. Kim Davidson
With roots stretching back over four decades, SideFX’s Houdini has become a do-it-all Oscar-winning 3D animation package used for VFX in pretty much every contemporary blockbuster. The company’s CEO and President, Kim Davidson, charts his career alongside the development of the software.
6. Amy Aniobi
This has got to be the wittiest CG Garage podcast of the year — not a surprise given that Amy Aniobi is head writer, executive producer, and director of HBO’s razor-sharp Insecure. She discusses her efforts to support Black writers, her views on AI in storytelling and gives her thoughts on how Hollywood auteurs are making a comeback via films such as Barbie and Oppenheimer.
7. Ryan Woodward
Ryan Woodward's animation roots stretch back to The Iron Giant, and he went on to become a storyboard and animatic artist on movies including Spider-Man 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, while making his own short animations. An essential listen for creatives, Ryan Woodward reveals how he’s found happiness, and how metaphysics and neuroscience have given him a deeper understanding of storytelling.
8. Janelle Croshaw Ralla & Jonathan Rothbart
This epic podcast covers the VFX of an equally epic film: John Wick: Chapter 4, which takes Keanu’s eponymous assassin on a global voyage of inventive fighting. Jonathan and Janelle reveal how the movie’s teams worked together to ensure the digital effects were seamlessly integrated with practical elements.
Want to know more about the VFX of John Wick? Check out Jonathan’s standalone episode.
9. Ben Procter
Avatar: The Way of Water explored a stunning new corner of Pandora — and Ben Procter was the production designer behind it. He reveals how his team built new assets for a familiar world and talks about how he worked with James Cameron to integrate set and prop design with the film’s story.
10. Michelle Munson
Public interest in crypto and NFTs declined in 2023, but that doesn’t mean its related blockchain technologies haven't revolutionized transactions and content delivery. In this podcast, data transfer expert Michelle Munson discusses Eluvio, the platform she founded to make it easier and fairer for studios to share content with consumers.
11. Marc Simonetti
How does it feel to have your name and personal brand turned into an AI prompt? DNEG artist Marc Simonetti tells Chris about how AI artists have mercilessly cloned his distinctive visual style, and talks about his work on movies including Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
12. Alex Wang
The Last of Us was the first great TV series of 2023. Its VFX supervisor Alex Wang reveals his journey to the top via movies including The Day After Tomorrow, Sin City, Tron: Legacy, and Deadpool, and talks about the effects of AI on the industry.
13. James Blevins
James Blevins’ spectacular talent for spotting pipeline inefficiencies and his up-to-the-minute understanding of new VFX technology have made him indispensable to studios including Disney, Netflix, and LucasFilm. He tells Chris about Mesh, the company he founded to consult on and produce virtual production projects.
14. Kevin Reste
Kevin Reste, a creative expert who’s worked for companies including NBC Sports, Sony Music Entertainment, and WWE, shares his insights on navigating the creative industry, staying ahead of technological trends, and the impact of AI on the industry. He offers valuable tips that can apply to everyone, from newbie artists to big tech companies.
